Depleted Colts still looking for win

WESTFIELD TWP. — The Cloverleaf and Revere boys basketball teams headed into a Suburban League game Friday looking for their first victories.

The depleted Colts lineup struggled to break the Minutemen’s pressure and fell
57-41.

Cloverleaf (0-5, 0-3) faced a plethora of zones and presses by Revere (1-3, 1-2) and fought for the majority of the game without Adam Podolak and Damian Tripp, who both sat on the bench in foul trouble, and starting power forward Connor Ploucha, who is out for the season with a left patellar tendon tear.

Podolak didn’t start due to the stomach flu, picked up four quick fouls in the first half and had his fifth early in the second half. The senior guard finished with two points.

Without Podolak and Tripp in the first half, Cloverleaf coach Marty Ryan’s squad had 19 turnovers and one assist.

“Revere pressured the ball a lot, and we knew that,” Ryan said. “Having two of my best ballhandlers having to sit with foul trouble definitely put us in a bad situation. Getting (Revere) to the stripe didn’t help too much. We have to make some better choices, too.”

Cloverleaf entered the second quarter facing a seven-point deficit, but Revere went on a 14-0 run over the opening 6:30 of the period.

The Minutemen led by 15 at half, and it was too much of a deficit for the Colts to overcome.

“I think a few of those we couldn’t get a bucket, and then a few of those we had turnovers that they took and capitalized on, which stretched the margin even more,” Ryan said.

Cloverleaf and Revere each hit 14 field goals, but 24 of the Minutemen’s points came from the free throw line. Dezmond Rozek (game-high 15 points) led Revere by going 7-for-9.

Without the 6-foot-4 Ploucha, the Colts will rely more on junior Dillon Mullins inside. The 6-5 center scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and pulled down 12 boards on the night.

“(Mullins) did have a rough start (0 points in the first half), but he did a good job defensively and he did fight through it,” Ryan said. “He did come out and do some good things for us toward the end. That’s the kind of ball he’s capable of playing. We’ve just got to get him to do that that all four quarters.”

Cloverleaf started to feed the ball to Mullins more in the fourth quarter, as the big man outscored the Minutemen 12-10 in the final period. The guard play also improved, as the Colts had just seven turnovers in the second half.

“We’re going to work hard and keep our heads up,” Ryan said. “That’s what you have to do, and we’re going to look for our first victory Tuesday (against Brooklyn).”

Note

The Minutemen won the junior varsity game 65-24. Michael Martin led the Colts with 12 points.